Blog #30- London vs. Montreal

Contrary to what some might think, it’s really hard to write a blog every week. I made a goal of writing one blog per week, for a year. So far, I haven’t done too poorly, I’ve missed three weeks, so in reality this should be blog #34. It’s hard some weeks to rather come up with something to write, or find the time to do so. I take pride in the things I write, and I don’t want to write for the sake of writing; however, a lot of the time I find myself writing something very last minute just to make sure I’m trying to do it once a week (like right now- starting to write at 10:24pm). However, I’m going to try harder to write once a week- maybe it won’t always be on a Monday, but I will try to write something every week when I feel inspired to.

London vs. Montreal

I feel like maybe I haven’t lived in Montreal long enough for a full “London vs. Montreal” analysis, but there are some key differences I feel and see here right off the bat- so here we go!

Transit

Hands down, no questions asked, London has a better transit network. For all the times I complained about the heat on the tubes, the packed buses, the transit strikes, and the price of TFL, I’m sorry!!!!!!!!!!! Dear God, what I would do to have a subway come every minute again. Montreal transit has to be THE WORST (read in a Donald Trump voice) transit system I’ve ever used, and there a quite a few reasons why. First off, ever heard of a subway system that only runs a train ever 7, 10, or even 12 minutes? No? Well welcome to Montreal…. sometimes where I need to go is only a 10-15 minute walk away, but you think it would be fast to take the subway. Well if you get to the station at the wrong time, you will have to wait a good 10-12 minutes before the subway actually gets there…. might as well walk, plus it’s free. The buses in Montreal aren’t bad, but the problem is, is that the communication as to relocating bus stops for construction is terrible. You will get to your stop and see a sign that says this bus station is closed as of X date. Now most people would be like “ok, so gotta find a new stop”, well this sign gives you absolutely no indication as to where another stop is that is open and operational, and the signs don’t tell you when that stop will reopen, so you have to check everyday. Don’t even get me started on the transit app, let’s leave it at this.

London for the win.

Police Presence

While I was in London, there were two terrorist attacks, which in the end led to an increase in police presence all over the city. Before the incidents, I noticed that there were still more police than I was used to seeing roaming the city and watching the crowds. The police in London are generally very nice, and take pity on tourist I think. So whenever I needed directions, they would hear my accent and assume I was just another tourist. Now in Montreal, I don’t see as many police out, which honestly is fine by me. I feel safer when I don’t see them out because I feel like that means they aren’t needed. Of course the officers are pretty nice, they will give you directions as well, but can sometimes be hard to follow since they come in a “franglais” language.

Montreal takes it hear- less police on the ground, safer I feel

Culture and People

Both cities are extremely diverse, and culture runs deep. Each city rich in history, steeped in tradition, and celebrates the diversity to it’s full effect. However, while living in both cities I noticed a few things. First of all London is very segmented- certain groups of people live in certain areas of the city and you would find it hard to find anyone else from that culture or ethnicity living in another borough. Honestly, I wasn’t overly surprised by this because of how expensive London is. If you look at on average, the socio-economic status of different ethnicities found from around the world, you can kind of pin-point where they will be able to afford a life in London. Secondly, London throws a lot of festivals celebrating each culture in some square or park during the year- makes it easy to taste food from around the world. Montreal is a little different. Because housing is much much cheaper in Montreal, I see lots of people being able to live in so many different neighbourhoods- within reason. In my area, there is a huge culture mix. Just to give you an idea, across from me is a Catholic School (typical Quebecois), beside my house is a Mosque (due to the high Pakistani population, as well as a large number of Indians), and then across the street on the other corner is a huge Greek Orthodox Church (every Saturday when I see a wedding it makes me want to watch My Big Fat Greek Wedding- legit every Saturday there is a wedding). I like living somewhere that celebrates differences and embraces it.

This is a tie, both cities offer a great chance to experience the world without buying a plane ticket.

Shopping

Again, don’t get me wrong, both cities offer a great variety of stores to shop at. London has more high end brands, and lots of European flagship stores are located in prominent shopping areas such as Regent Street, or Oxford Street. Montreal has St. Catherines street which offers some great stores to shop in, but one cool thing about Montreal is that a lot of head offices for retailers is located right here in the city (like mine!!!). The one major issue with both cities, and this one probably bugs me the most, is that stores aren’t open very late. In Montreal stores close around 6 on a Monday to Wednesday basis, open until 9 on Thursdays and Fridays, and close at 5 on the weekends. In London, stores are open until 9 on weekdays, 5 on Saturdays, and 4 on Sundays. I like to shop. I like to wonder stores. I like to do this at night, after work, after dinner. THESE HOURS DON’T WORK FOR ME!

Ontario for the win- they get my shopping habits and need for a Walmart that is open until 11pm.

Both cities are unique, and offer some great advantages- both offer great food, festivals, services, and opportunities; however, at the end of the day they are still just cities and making the most of them is what really counts!